View Full Version : Belfasts at Marshall's early 70s
Frostchamber
29th Apr 2018, 10:31
A quick nostalgia trip for those of us that like that sort of thing - what I suspect may be previously unseen pics of XR362 and XR366 at Marshall's Cambridge in (probably) the early-mid 70s. Click on image to see full size. Taken by a Marshall's employee and now owned by his son, and shared here with permission. In the case of 366, an object lesson in fitting something into a space not designed to take it...
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A friend was passing through Cairns said the Heavylift aircraft was still there as of 18 Apr 18.
ImageGear
29th Apr 2018, 11:44
One of my most favourite aircraft. You had to know it to love it. Big "Office", just wished it could have gone a tad faster.
IG
Fareastdriver
29th Apr 2018, 11:55
I once collected a Valiant from Marshalls in 1963 after a radio mod. We were warned the runway was a bit short by the crew that took it in. It must have been a noticeable landing because it had been there a month and the brakes were still warm.
Incredibly, for us, narrow taxiway and we needed the assistant of the nav radar and AEO to keep all the wheels on the concrete on the final turn onto the runway. We were very light but we still needed to raise the undercarriage to get some ground separation.
Frostchamber
29th Apr 2018, 14:07
One of my most favourite aircraft. You had to know it to love it. Big "Office", just wished it could have gone a tad faster.
IG
I believe those strakes under the rear fuselage, added post-build due to drag issues, added something like 40kt to maximum speed. Things must have been fairly spectacular beforehand.
thunderbird7
29th Apr 2018, 14:19
Great aeroplane. Used to see them in TAC Heavylift colours at Stansted, along with CL44s. Shame it never stayed in RAF service.
Haraka
29th Apr 2018, 18:58
Although a bit of a "Dragmaster", as a passenger infinitely more comfortable to fly in than a Herc. More like a Britt.
treadigraph
30th Apr 2018, 00:34
Although a bit of a "Dragmaster", as a passenger infinitely more comfortable to fly in than a Herc. More like a Britt.
Same wings as the Britannia wasn't it?
BEagle
30th Apr 2018, 07:17
Haraka wrote: as a passenger infinitely more comfortable to fly in than a Herc.
Indeed it was! We came back from King Rock 69 in one - proper seats in the cavernous cargo bay and lots of space. After strapping in at (I think) Wildenrath, the next thing I remember was the rear doors opening at Brize. Best sleep I'd had for a fortnight!
Whereas travelling in a Herc was invariably dreadful as pax.
ImageGear
30th Apr 2018, 07:38
One couldn't strap in if one "captured" a Soft top Landy roof to snooze in. :E
IG
There is a thread in the PPRuNe Forums (https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/) > Misc. Forums (https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/f-4.html) > Aviation History and Nostalgia (https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/f-86.html) > Short Belfast-why? which shows a Belfast in the hanger with a strange contraption which lifts the nosewheel off the ground. The point was that the tail was too tall to get in the hanger doors, so they lifted the nose (which lowered the tail) and dragged the aircraft in and out of the hanger. Typical British ingenuity when the sensible option was to make the hanger doors taller.
Always a Sapper
30th Apr 2018, 18:50
There is a thread in the PPRuNe Forums (https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/) > Misc. Forums (https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/f-4.html) > Aviation History and Nostalgia (https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/f-86.html) > Short Belfast-why? which shows a Belfast in the hanger with a strange contraption which lifts the nosewheel off the ground. The point was that the tail was too tall to get in the hanger doors, so they lifted the nose (which lowered the tail) and dragged the aircraft in and out of the hanger. Typical British ingenuity when the sensible option was to make the hanger doors taller.
Ahh, but then the hanger doors would be too tall for the next type to go through.... such was PSA / DE / DIO logic matey :)
Frostchamber
30th Apr 2018, 19:12
There is a thread in the PPRuNe Forums (https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/) > Misc. Forums (https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/f-4.html) > Aviation History and Nostalgia (https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/f-86.html) > Short Belfast-why? which shows a Belfast in the hanger with a strange contraption which lifts the nosewheel off the ground. The point was that the tail was too tall to get in the hanger doors, so they lifted the nose (which lowered the tail) and dragged the aircraft in and out of the hanger. Typical British ingenuity when the sensible option was to make the hanger doors taller.
I'm pretty sure that's what's happening in the first picture in my post above...
Rigga
30th Apr 2018, 19:28
[QUOTE=Frostchamber;10133220] In the case of 366, an object lesson in fitting something into a space not designed to take it...
A practice that is practiced even today.:rolleyes:
AARON O'DICKYDIDO
1st May 2018, 07:27
OGRE
"so they lifted the nose (which lowered the tail) and dragged the aircraft in and out of the hanger. Typical British ingenuity when the sensible option was to make the hanger doors taller."
Nothing new there - That is what used to happen with the Beverly.
Aaron.
It's only Me
2nd May 2018, 08:58
Sorry, finally broken....
Hanger: a shoulder-shaped frame with a hook at the top, usually of wire, wood or plastic, for draping and hanging a garment when not in use.
Hangar: any relatively large structure used for housing airplanes or airships.
Grumpy Me